1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to the handling of sheet material and, more particularly, to a booklet maker.
2. Background Information
A system for finishing printed sheets into booklets is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,099,225 (Allen et al.), hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety, where most finishing operations are performed on a sheet-by-sheet basis using precise paper positioning. Sheet material is transported from one operation to another along a horizontal paper path. Also, the Allen patent discloses an inverted V-shaped workpiece for collecting folded booklet sheets.
Another system for making saddle-stitched booklets on a sheet-wise basis is disclosed in PCT No. WO 00/18583 (Trovinger et al.), hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. In this system, folded booklet sheets are forwarded from a folding device to a reciprocating saddle with the use of a secondary drive system. In such a forwarding system, the path of the sheets is a straight, horizontal line, while the folded sheets are accumulated in a vertical fashion (i.e., on the saddle), that is, normal to the sheet path. A reciprocating saddle as described in the Trovinger PCT permits a trailing side of a folded sheet to be transported onto the backside of a saddle.